Smile at Fear

Shifting The Way of the Bodhisattva Posts to Facebook

Well, guess ive taken too long a break, gonna restart to study the teachings. However will be posting the verses and any additional notes to my facebook page, there's better chance someone interested in practicing can get in contact with this precious teachings.

Here's the address of the page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Way-of-The-Bodhisattva/176310119065579

The Way Of The Bodhisattva 2.1 - 2.29

The Way Of The Bodhisattva

Chapter 2 Confessions 2.1 - 2.29

2.1

To the buddhas, those thus gone,

And to the sacred Law, immaculate, supreme, and rare,

And to the Buddha’s offspring, oceans of good qualities,

That I might gain this precious attitude, I make a perfect

Offering.

2.2

I offer every fruit and flower

And every kind of healing medicine;

And all the precious things the world affords,

With all pure waters of refreshment;

2.3

Every mountain, rich and filled with jewels;

All sweet and lonely forest groves;

The trees of heaven, garlanded with blossom,

And branches heavy, laden with their fruit;

2.4

The perfumed fragrance of the realms of gods

And men;

All incense, wish trees, and trees of gems;

All crops that grow without the tiller’s care

And every sumptuous object worthy to be offered;

2.5

Lakes and meres adorned with lotuses,

All plaintive with the sweet-voiced cries of water birds

And lovely to the eyes, and all things wild and free,

Stretching to the boundless limits of the sky;

2.6

I hold them all before my mind, and to the supreme

Buddhas

And their heirs will make a perfect gift of them.

O, think of me with love, compassionate lords;

Sacred objects of my prayers, accept these offerings.

2.7

For I am empty-handed, destitute of merit,

I have no other wealth. But you, protectors,

You whose thoughts are for the good of others,

In your great power, accept this for my sake.

2.8

The buddhas and their bodhisattva children –

I offer them myself throughout my lives.

Supreme courageous ones, accept me totally.

For with devotion I will be your servant.

2.9

For if you will accept me, I will be

A benefit to all, and freed from fear.

I’ll go beyond the evils of my past,

And ever after turn my face from them.

2.10

A bathing chamber excellently fragrant,

With floors of crystal, radiant and clear,

With graceful pillars shimmering with gems,

All hung about with gleaming canopies of pearls –

2.11

There the blissful buddhas and their heirs

I’ll bath with many a precious vase,

Abrim with water, sweet and pleasant,

All to frequent strains of melody and song.

2.12

With clots of unexampled quality,

With peerless, perfumed towels I will dry them

And offer splendid scented clothes,

Well dyed and of surpassing excellence.

2.13

With different garments, light and supple,

And a hundred beautiful adornments,

I will grace sublime Samanthbhadra,

Manjughosha, Lokeshvara, and their kin.

2.14

And with a sumptuous fragrance that

Pervades a thousand million worlds,

I will anoint the bodies of the buddhas,

Light and gleaming bright, like pure and burnished

Gold.

2.15

I will place before the Buddha, perfect object of my

Worship,

Flowers like the lotus and the mandarava,

Utpala, and other scented blossoms,

Worked and twined in lovely scented garlands.

2.16

I will offer swelling clouds of incense,

Whose ambient perfume ravishes the mind,

And various foods and every kind of drink,

All delicacies worthy of the gods.

2.17

I will offer precious lamps,

All perfectly contrived as golden lotuses,

A bed of flower petals scattering

Upon the level, incense-sprinkled ground.

2.18

I will offer palaces immense and resonant

With song,

All decked with precious pearls and pendant gems,

Gleaming treasures fit to ornament the amplitude

Of space:

All this I offer to the loving bodhiattvas.

2.19

Precious parasols adorned with golden shafts

And bordered all around with jeweled fringes,

Upright, well-proportioned, pleasing to the eye,

Again all this I give to all the buddhas.

2.20

May a multitude of other offereings,

Accompanied by music sweet to hear,

Be made in great successive clouds,

To soothe the sufferings of living beings.

2.21

May rains of flowers, every precious thing,

Fall down in a unceasing stream

Upon the jewels of sacred Dharma,

The Triple Gem and all supports for offering.

2.22

Just as Manjughosha, gentle and melodious,

Made offerings to all the conquerors,

Likewise I will make oblation

To the buddhas and their bodhisattva children.

2.23

I will offer prayers by every way and means

To these vast oceans of good qualities

May clouds of tuneful praise

Ascend unceasingly before them.

2.24

To the buddhas of the past, the present and all future time,

And to the Doctrine and Sublime Assembly,

With bodies many as the grains of dust

Upon the ground, I will prostrate and bow.

2.25

To shrines and all supports

Of bodhichitta I bow down:

All abbots who transmit the vows, all learned masters,

And all nobles ones who practice Dharma.

2.26

Until the essence of enlightenment is reached,

I go for refuge to the buddhas.

Also I take refuge in the Doctrine

And all the host of bodhisattvas.

2.27

To perfect buddhas and bodhisattvas,

In all directions where they may reside

To them who are the sovereigns of great mercy,

I press my palms together praying thus:

2.28

“In this and all my other lifetimes,

Wandering in the round without beginning,

Blindly I have brought forth wickedness,

Inciting others to commit the same.

2.29

I have taken pleasure in such evil,

Tricked and overmastered by my ignorance.

Now I see the blame of it, and in my heart,

O great protectors, I declare it!”

Confessions

good teachings by Pema Chodron, taken from her book No Time to Lose (pg 36).

From verse 27 until the end of this chapter, Shantideva presents the practice of confession or, as Trungpa Rinpoche translated it, “laying aside our neurotic crimes.” Whenever we do something we wish we hadn’t, we give it our full, compassionate attention. Rather than hiding our mistakes from ourselves and others, we forthrightly declare them. By acknowledging them to ourselves, we avoid self-deception. In certain circumstances, we may also declare them to someone else, as witness to our wise intention.

To see clearly how we strengthen or weaken crippling patterns, we have to bring them to light. It’s like getting ready for bed at night: we easily remove our clothes in a room by ourselves, but the presence of another person heightens our awareness. The role of others, whether it’s the great protectors or our friends, is simply to hear us out, without judging or needing to fix us. In this way, confession overcomes ignorance, or lack of self-reflection.

You may ask, “Isn’t it enough to acknowledge my regrets to myself?” it does help a lot, but not enough to completely dissolve self-deception. When we express our regrets to the buddhas or another human being, we can’t kid ourselves. As an act of self-compassion and self-respect, we use a witness to expose ourselves to ourselves. Thus instead of carrying around a burden of shame, we’re free to make a fresh start. The benefit of laying aside our “neurotic crimes” is being able to go forward without guilt.

The practice of confession is an excellent way to move beyond guilt and self-deception. It relies on the view that neurosis, while it may feel monolithic or immutable, is essentially transitory and insubstantial. It is just very strong energy that we mistakenly identify as a solid and permanent “me”. Confessing, like make offerings and prostrations, helps us let go of this fixed version of who we are.

When we do something we wish we hadn’t, we don’t remain oblivious; we acknowledge it with what Dzigar Longtrul Rinpoche calls “positive sadness.” Instead of condemning ourselves, we can connect with the openhearted tenderness of regret. Thus the habits of self-deception and guilt have a chance to wither away. This is the essential point of the practice of confession.

The Way Of The Bodhisattva 1.29 - 1.36

1.29

But those who fill with bliss

All beings destitute of joy,

Who cut all pain and suffering away

From those weighed down with misery,

1.30

Who drive away the darkness of their ignorance –

What virtue could be matched with theirs?

What friend could be compared to them?

What merit is there similar to this?

1.31

If they do some good, in thanks

For favors once received, are praised,

Why need we speak of bodhisattvas –

Those who freely benefit the world?

1.32

Those who, scornfully with condescension,

Give, just once, a single meal to others –

Feeding them for only half a day –

Are honored by the world as virtuous.

1.33

What need is there to speak of those

Who constantly bestow on boundless multitudes

The peerless joy of blissful buddhahood,

The ultimate fulfillment of their hopes?

1.34

And those who harbor evil in their minds

Against such lords of generosity, the Buddha’s heirs,

Will stay in hell, the Mighty One has said,

For ages equal to the moments of their malice.

1.35

By contrast, good and virtuous thoughts

Will yield abundant fruits in greater measure.

Even in adversity, the bodhisattvas

Never bring forth evil – only an increasing stream of

Goodness.

1.36

To them in whom this precious sacred mind

Is born – to them I bow!

I go for the refuge in that source of happiness

That brings its very enemies to perfect bliss.

 End of Chapter 1

The Way Of The Bodhisattva 1.17 - 1.28

1.17

Bodhichitta in intention bears rich fruit

For those still wandering in samsara

And yet a ceaseless stream of merit does not flow

From it;

For this will rise alone from active bodhichitta.

1.18

For when, with irreversible intent,

The mind embraces bodhichitta,

Willing to set free the endless multitudes of beings,

At that instant, from that moment on,

1.19

A great and unremitting stream,

A strength of wholesome merit,

Even during sleep and inattention,

Rises equal to the vastness of the sky.

1.20

This the Tathagata,

In the sutra Subahu requested,

Said with reasoned demonstration,

Teaching those inclined to lesser paths.

1.21

If with kindly generosity

One merely has the wish to sooth

The aching heads of other beings,

Such merit knows no bounds.

1.22

No need to speak, then, of the wish

To drive away the endless pain

Of each and every living being,

Bringing them unbounded virtues.

1.23

Could our fathers or our mothers

Ever have so generous a wish?

Do the very gods, the rishis, even Brahma

Harbor such benevolence as this?

1.24

For in the past they never,

Even in their dreams, conceived

Such profit even for themselves.

How could they have such aims for others’ sake?

1.25

For beings do not wish their own true good,

So how could they intend such good for others’ sake?

This state of mind so precious and so rare

Arises truly wondrous, never seen before.

1.26

The pain-dispelling draft,

This cause of joy for those who wander through the

World –

This precious attitude, this jewel of mind,

How shall it be gauged or quantified?

1.27

For if the simple thought to be of help to others

Exceeds in worth the worship of the buddhas,

What need is there to speak of actual deeds

That bring about the weal and benefit of beings?

1.28

For beings long to free themselves from misery,

But misery itself they follow and pursue.

They long for joy, but in their ignorance

Destroy it, as they would a hated enemy.

Commentary on 1.27 and 1.28

Again Shantideva praises the benefits of an ordinary, altruistic thought, while adding how much greater it is to actually follow through. To help others at the most meaningful level, however, we first address our own confusion.

As Shantideva points out, although we long to free ourselves from misery, it is misery itself we follow and pursue. We may assume we do crazy things intentionally, but in truth these actions aren’t always volitional. Our conditioning is sometimes so deep that we cause harm without even realizing it. We long for joy and do the very things that destroy our peace of mind. Again and again, we unwittingly make matters worse. If we’re going to help other people get free, we have to work compassionately with our own unfortunate tendencies. Shantideva, we will find, is an expert in dismantling these repeating patterns.

The Way Of The Bodhisattva 1.15 - 1.16

1.15

Bodhichitta, the awakening mind,

In brief is said to have two aspects:

First, aspiring, bodhichitta in intention;

Then, active bodhichitta, practical engagement.

1.16

Wishing to depart and setting out upon the road,

This is how the difference is conceived.

The wise and learned thus should understand

This difference, which is ordered and progressive.

Here is the commentary written by Pema Chodron regarding these 2 verses:

Here Shantideva presents the two aspects of relative bodhichitta: aspiration and action. Aspiring, or intentional, bodhichitta is like wishing to take a trip; active bodhichitta is actually setting out on the journey. We first aspire to attain enlightenment and benefit others, then we do whatever it takes to make this a reality.

To give a mundane example: lets say you’re stuck in grasping and craving; you know that you collect and hoard, that you panic when something’s taken from you or you have to let it go. How do you work with unreasonable attachment, for your own sake and the happiness of others?

One way would be to cultivate generosity. At the level of aspiration bodhichitta, you might look around your room for something you love. Then, visualize giving it away: your beautiful red sweater, or that special book, or the chocolate you’re hoarding under your bed. You don’t have to literally give it away, just visualize this. Then expand the offering to include millions of sweaters, books or chocolates. Send these out to particular individuals or into the universe for anyone to receive.

In this way, aspiration bodhichitta accomplishes two things: it fulfills our wish to lessen the pain of self-absorption and our wish to benefit others. Moreover, it we aspire for others to experience not only our gifts but also the joys of an unfettered mind, our intention becomes vaster still.

Intention bodhichitta is a powerful way to work with situations we don’t feel ready to handle. For example, by simply aspiring to give away something we’re attached to, we train our fearful mind to let go. Then active bodhichitta- in this case the ability to literally give- will come about in time.

If we equate ‘giving’ with ‘freedom from craving’ then we become more eager to act, even if it causes some pain.

The Way Of The Bodhisattva 1.10 - 1.14

1.10

For like the supreme substance of the alchemists,

It takes the impure form of human flesh

And makes of it the priceless body of a Buddha.

Such is bodhichitta: we should grasp it firmly!

1.11

If the perfect leaders of all migrant beings

Have with boundless wisdom seen its priceless worth,

We who wish to leave our nomad wandering

Should hold well to this precious bodhichitta.

1.12

All other virtues, like the plantain tree,

Produce their fruit, but then their force is spent.

Alone the marvelous tree of bodhichitta

Will bear its fruit and grow unceasingly.

1.13

As though they pass through perils guarded by a hero,

Even those weighed down with dreadful wickedness

Will instantly be freed through having bodhichitta

Who then would not place his trust in it?

1.14

Just as by the fires at the end of time,

Great sins are utterly consumed by bodhichitta,

Thus its benefits are boundless,

As the Wise and Loving Lord explained to Sudhana.

The Way Of The Bodhisattva 1.5-1.9

Chapter 1 The Excellence of Bodhichitta

1.5

As when a flash of lightning rends the night,

And in its glare shows all the dark black clouds had hid,

Likewise rarely, through the buddhas’ power,

Virtuous thoughts rise, brief and transient, in the

World.

1.6

Thus behold the utter frailty of goodness!

Except for perfect bodhichitta,

There is nothing able to withstand

The great and overwhelming strength of evil.

1.7

The mighty buddhas, pondering for many ages,

Have seen that this, and only this, will save

The boundless multitudes,

And bring them easily to supreme joy.

1.8

Those who wish to overcome the sorrows of their lives,

And put to flight the pain and suffering of beings,

Those who wish to win such great beatitude,

Should never turn their back on bodhichitta

1.9

Should bodhichitta come to birth

In one who suffers in the dungeons of samsara,

In that instant he is called the buddhas’ heir,

Worshipful alike to gods and men.

The Way Of The Bodhisattva 1.1-1.4

I am now on the book 'No Time To Lose' written by Pema Chodron, a guide to Shantideva 'The Way of the Bodhisattva'(Bodhicharyavatara). In conjunction with this I shall be sharing the verses that I'm currently studying, and will be doing this until I finish the book. For Chapter 9 on Wisdom, I will be studying from another book ' Transcendent Wisdom' written by H.H. The Dalai Lama, after I finish this book. May everyone who read this reap its benefits in life.

Chapter 1 The Excellence of Bodhichitta

1.1

To those who go in bliss, the Dharma they have

     Mastered, and to all their heirs,

To all who merit veneration, I bow down.

According to tradition, I shall now in brief describe

The entrance to the bodhisattva discipline.

1.2

What I have to say has all been said before,

And I am destitute of learning and of skill with words.

I therefore have no thought that this might be of benefit

     to others;

I wrote it only to sustain my understanding.

1.3

My faith will thus be strengthened for a little while,

That I might grow accustomed to this virtuous way.

But others who now chance upon my words,

May profit also, equal to myself in fortune.

1.4

So hard to find such ease and wealth

Whereby to render meaningful this human birth!

If now I fail to turn it to my profit,

How could such a chance be mine again?

Interview taken from http://www.tricycle.com/dharma-talk/realizing-guiltlessness?offer=dharma

Realizing Guiltlessness

The Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche speaks with Pema Chodron.

Pema Chödrön, an American nun in the Shambhala lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and the author of several books, including the best-selling When Things Fall Apartand The Places that Scare You, currently practices under the guidance of the Venerable Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, a teacher in the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Dzigar Kongtrul established the mountain retreat center Longchen Jigme Samten Ling, in southern Colorado. He spends much of his time there guiding students, with particular emphasis on long-term retreat practice. At his retreat center last spring, Pema Chödrön spoke with Dzigar Kongtrul about a primary obstacle Westerners face in their practice: guilt.

Pema Chödrön: Rinpoche, since you’ve been living in North America for some time and know Western mind and culture well—what do you think is the most beneficial advice you can give to dharma students here?

Ven. Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche: The most important thing that I see Western students needing to realize is guiltlessness.

PC:  Guiltlessness?

VDKR:  Yes, guiltlessness. They need to realize that the person or the mind is, by its very nature, innocent.

PC: Could you explain what you mean by “innocent”?

VDKR: I mean that from the Buddhist point of view we can understand that all the things we do to harm ourselves and others come from deep-rooted confusions and ignorance but that the mind is by its very nature pure and enlightened. When we feel a tremendous amount of guilt, we forget this view.

PC: I think sometimes Western students have trouble believing this view.

VDKR: The fact that all sentient beings long for happiness and freedom proves that the nature of their mind is pure and innocent.

PC: But it seems that we identify more with “bad me” than with pure and innocent.

VDKR: This sense of “bad me” comes from not understanding the view of selflessness that is so central to the Buddhist path. Understanding that there is no solid, singular, or permanent “me” makes it possible to accommodate whatever arises in life without feeling so intimidated by our experience, without rolling over like a defeated dog in a dogfight. We can see that things arise due to our karma playing itself out and that it does not necessarily have to be so personal. In this way we can identify with something greater—which is our nature itself. From this perspective, since there is no solid, singular, permanent self, there’s not going to be a “bad” self to feel guilty about. Mind is innocent but influenced by ignorance and wrong conceptual beliefs that project a self. But there is no self.

PC: So how do we realize selflessness?

VDKR: Mind has an innate intelligence, and this intelligence can be cultivated—so that one can realize selflessness—which is the opposite of this projected “me.” This is our true nature.

PC: With this in mind, how do we approach that deep-rooted tendency of feeling guilty?

VDKR: First, just on a basic level, we can remind ourselves that guilt has no benefit of any sort and only increases our neurotic attachment to the self. But, more importantly, we can see that guilt is actually the way we try to escape responsibility for our actions and circumstances. We feel guilty when we don’t fully accept our circumstances. Instead, we continually try to protect and cherish this imaginary self. When we feel guilty, we are actually substantiating this “self” even further, rather than honestly looking at the situation in front of us. If we remember that the mind is innocent, even though we so often act out of ignorance we can distance ourselves from the situation enough to actually look at it honestly. Guilt, on the other hand, is a sidetrack with no resolution—it’s endless. You may feel like you are facing something because you are steeped in it—kind of rubbing your nose in how very bad it is—but actually you are not accepting it.

PC: Rinpoche, if I’ve done something harmful and I’m not to feel guilty about it, then how can I come to terms with what I’ve done? How can I completely acknowledge what I’ve done and yet not feel guilt?

VDKR: Through means of regret. Regret is a function of mind’s intelligence. We can see what we’ve done to cause suffering to ourselves and others. We acknowledge what we’ve done and also resolve not to do it again. This is very helpful. We see it clearly and acknowledge it so it does not remain in our mind stream. To be able to self-reflect in this way brings tremendous freedom. It’s like you stop fighting your circumstances and look honestly. Because your view of self is not so tightly knit, you can look without intimidation. We do this practice of acknowledging and purifying, with deep regret about what we’ve done to cause harm. We expose it to ourselves.

PC: Rinpoche, I don’t really see the difference between regret and guilt. There’s still the sense that one has done something bad.

VDKR: The difference between guilt and regret is that guilt never faces the wrongdoing straightforwardly. There’s just this strong emotion of “I wish it hadn’t happened. I wish I didn’t do it. I wish I had never gotten angry” or “I wish I didn’t do that embarrassing thing,” and so on. Regret is the opposite of guilt. We acknowledge it, we expose to ourselves that we have done something harmful and how it came about from our ignorance, but we don’t get caught in emotions and story lines. The sense of remorse is not anywhere near as heavy as the “bad me” that guilt produces. As a matter of fact, the sensation of wholehearted remorse is freeing. By applying the view of selflessness, we can see how unhelpful guilty feelings freeze us in our perception of ourselves as “bad me.” When one feels room to open and can see that out of ignorance, not out of an intrinsic “bad me,” one has done something to trouble others, then there’s no hesitation to see that. And there is no hesitation, if it seems beneficial, to apologize.

PC: Thank you. That certainly clarifies a lot for me. Are there other benefits that come from reflecting on guiltlessness?

VDKR: When one realizes guiltlessness within oneself, one feels freer and lighter. The attachment to the self, which we all have, lifts. We also start to work with our minds better. The mind is more agile and flexible, because our intelligence becomes the reference point instead of this self we so desperately grasp onto. Then we can break down our actions more precisely and work with our actions in more creative ways in the future, with more wisdom. In the case of relating to the wrongdoings of others, we see that the nature of their mind is also innocent, guiltless. Ignorance has influenced them and they are blinded and vulnerable. And because they are helpless under the power of ignorance, it is easier for us to generate compassion for them and forgive them as well. It is much easier to do all this when we see the person as innocent rather than guilty and intrinsically bad.

PC: One of the most important aspects of being a teacher is to point out the student’s blind spots. How do you work with this when students have so much trouble seeing their faults?

VDKR: This is a good question. Ultimately, nothing significant can really take place within the practice or within the student-teacher relationship until the student is ready to see his or her faults without heavy guilt. To the extent that a student wants to do this, he or she is a practitioner. When a teacher points out these dark hidden areas, the ignorance is being addressed and exposed for the student’s benefit, rather than in order to increase a sense of an intrinsic bad self. But a teacher also needs to maintain an awareness of the true identity of the student. The teacher also points out the student’s basic nature so that he or she can identify with his or her own goodness, and not with guilt or defensiveness. Then there is plenty of room to look at the hidden corners that really are fleeting and temporary. Both student and teacher must have an awareness of the student’s blind spots and his or her Buddha-nature.

PC: So the readiness to self-reflect seems to be the key here.

VDKR: The readiness to self-reflect coupled with the greater view of selflessness, which really makes it possible to look. When we are able to do this, all in all, we will become much more carefree, free of struggle.

PC: Struggle?

VDKR: Yes, the struggle is the guilt—not wanting to look. With the view of guiltlessness we can work with wrong or right, did or didn’t. It doesn’t matter. We can feel free to work with that situation without struggle. The mind is more agile because there is more space—space to look without feeling threatened. Once guilt has awakened, it has this extra-strength feeling of intrinsically “bad me.” This is not helpful and not true and not in accord with the way things are. If we bring the view of egolessness to our guilt, it will pop the deep part of our emotional attachment to this intrinsic “bad me.” I feel certain that realizing guiltlessness and selflessness is very helpful for all practitioners.